From the time the eggs come out of the incubator — or 'Tardis', as Mr Wiggins calls it — to when the tiny chicks are placed in heated drawers, and then a series of feeding sheds where they can more than double in size in a matter of days, the birds' life cycle is about five weeks.

Quails more than double in size in a matter of days in the sheds at Rannoch Farm.

Quails more than double in size in a matter of days in the sheds at Rannoch Farm.

ABC Rural: Peta Carlyon

Mr Wiggins said his family business was well placed to adapt to changing markets, but the last year had been "very slow".

"We don't know why," he said.

"You can generally tell when there's a lot of tourists around.

"Christmas is our peak period, Easter is [also] usually a peak period, but the industry's been slow this year."

Tens of thousands of eggs composted

As well as the shift to an emphasis on pre-prepared cafe products, Mr Wiggins has also had to write off egg sales.

When quail egg demand was high he used to sell to restaurants, but Mr Wiggins said he had been forced to abort that part of his business when the Tasmanian Government introduced egg-stamping legislation.

White-crowned sparrows exposed to small doses of a common neonicotinoid insecticide used in agriculture rapidly shed significant amounts of fat and spent days recovering before rejoining their migration, a study has found.